Resealed chromaffin-granule ‘ghosts’ were used to study the steady-state kinetics of catecholamine transport. The pump has a high affinity for (-)-noradrenaline, (-)-adrenaline, tyramine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), but a lower affinity for (+)-noradrenaline. The measured rates of incorporation do not conform to Michaelis–Menten kinetics, but affinity constants for the former substrates are in the range 8–18μm. Reserpine is a potent inhibitor. Incorporation as a function of ATP concentration also fails to show simple kinetics; the affinity constant for ATP is deduced to be about 3mm at 1mm-MgCl2. Adenylyl (βγ-methylene)diphosphonate is a competitive inhibitor at low concentrations, but inhibits more strongly at high concentrations. The pump has a transition temperature at 29°C and does not seem to be identical with the Mg2+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase of chromaffin granules.
